Health Protection Agency (HPA) has prohibited touristed from entering local households in islands which resume guesthouse operations next month.
In the guidelines issued regarding the resumption of guesthouse services, HPA stated guesthouses located within the premises of a household in which people are living in will not be allowed to resume services yet. HPA stated tourists staying in guesthouses are also not permitted to enter any local households in the island.
While tourists are permitted to enter cafes and restaurants in the island, such establishments must implement special safety measures before serving tourists. Tourists are required to wear face masks at all times when in public. Tourists and staff of the guesthouses are encouraged to install the TraceEkee application on their phones, to facilitate contact tracing.
Furthermore, the guideline states if a tourist or staff of a guesthouse tests positive for COVID-19, the respective guesthouse is required to allocate a location for isolation and quarantine. Guesthouses with more than 500 beds are required to allocate 15 rooms for isolation, while guesthouses with 100 to 500 beds are required to allocate 8 rooms for isolation. Meanwhile, guesthouses with less than 100 beds are required to allocate 5 rooms for isolation.
All the medical supplies required for such facilities are to be provided by HPA and the respective hospital or health centre in the island. Any high-risk individuals must be transferred to the nearest COVID-19 medical facility.
Guesthouses in the atolls have been permitted to reopen from October 15 onwards. However, hotels and guesthouses in the Greater Male’ Region will remain closed until further notice.